SINGAPORE: Qatar's rework demands delayed A350-1000 delivery

05 February, 2018

SOURCE: Flight Dashboard

BY: Michael Gubisch

Singapore

Airbus has declined to specify a delivery date for the first A350-1000 to launch operator Qatar Airways.

A350 marketing director Francois Obe indicated during a briefing at the Singapore air show that the delivery, previously targeted for late-2017, was delayed as a result of the Middle Eastern carrier not being fully satisfied with the aircraft.

“What we want is to deliver an aircraft that really meets the high expectations of Qatar Airways,” Obe says.

He adds that the airline’s senior executive team liked the A350-1000 “very much”, when the aircraft visited Qatar in late January as part of a demonstrator tour in the Middle East and Asia.

Airbus’s objective, however, is to “satisfy” the type’s launch operator and deliver the aircraft “according to its expectations”, says Obe.

He adds that it is also customary for the operator, not the manufacturer, to disclose a delivery date.

In late January, Airbus said the aircraft will be delivered “in the coming weeks”.